The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, today denied there had been any cases of so-called extraordinary rendition involving the UK about which parliament had not been informed.Mr Straw was forced to rush out a written ministerial statement after the leak of a memo from the Foreign Office to No 10 suggested that there could have been more requests from the United States than the four about which parliament has been told.Mr Straw said in his statement today: "That is not the case." The memo, obtained by the New Statesman and reported in the Guardian yesterday, advised No 10 to avoid getting drawn into detail over renditions and said they were illegal in most circumstances. It said the government did not know how many times the US had asked to use British airports for rendition flights.... http://www.guardian.co.uk

A lost and likely sick whale swam up the River Thames past Parliament and Big Ben in central London on Friday, attracting huge crowds and a police boat escort before nearly beaching itself on the shallow riverbank. The Northern bottlenose whale appeared to be about 20 feet long, witnesses said. The whale, which usually is found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, was about 40 miles from the mouth of the Thames on the North Sea. Tom Howard-Vyne said he saw the marine mammal swim under Westminster Bridge near Big Ben. "I saw it blow. It was a spout of water which sparkled in the air," he said. "It was an amazing sight." TV stations followed the marine mammal with live coverage as it wandered into shallow water near the muddy banks of the tidal waterway. The whale appeared to get stuck several times, and officials wearing yellow jackets could be seen running up and down the shoreline at low tide trying to push it back into deeper water. ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-20-londonwhale_x.htm?csp=34

Federal prosecutors have indicted 11 people in a series of arsons in the Northwest that have been claimed by the radical groups Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, Justice Department officials said Friday. The suspects are believed responsible for 17 incidents, including sabotaging a power plant, in a conspiracy that dates back to 1996, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the indictment was under seal in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore. It was expected to be made public later Friday. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller were expected to talk about the indictment Friday at a news conference in Washington. Some of those charged Friday remain at large, the officials said. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/20/national/main1224643.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=U.S._1224643

The internet search engine Google is resisting efforts by the US Department of Justice to force it to hand over data about what people are looking for. Google was asked for information on the types of query submitted over a week, and the websites included in its index. The department wants the data to try to show in court it has the right approach in enforcing an online pornography law. It says the order will not violate personal privacy, but Google says it is too broad and threatens trade secrets. Privacy groups say any sample could reveal the identities of Google users indirectly. And they say the demand is a worrying precedent, because the government also wants to make more use of internet data for fighting crime and terrorism. However, the Department of Justice has said that several of Google's main competitors have already complied. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4630694.stm

Iraq's Shia-led United Iraqi Alliance has won the country's parliamentary elections, but failed to obtain an absolute majority. The alliance took 128 of the 275 seats - 10 short of an outright majority. Kurdish parties have 53 seats and the main Sunni Arab bloc 44. The Shias will now be expected to form a coalition government. A number of Sunni politicians have alleged fraud, and international observers criticised irregularities. Those who do not accept the results will have two days to appeal before they are certified as definitive. However, one Sunni party which won 11 parliamentary seats has called on other parties to unite to form a parliamentary opposition. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4630518.stm

A woman abducted from a Jersey shore home where her two sons were found bludgeoned to death managed to escape from her captor and run to a gas station for help, authorities said Friday. The woman's ex-husband had called police Thursday night after she called him by cell phone, saying she had been kidnapped and forced to withdraw money from an ATM. He went to the home and found the bodies of his slain sons in the basement. Ocean County Prosecutor Thomas Kelaher said Friday that the boys, ages 7 and 14, had been beaten to death with a hammer....http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1526410